Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match

Author: Monica Brown http://www.monicabrown.net/
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Date of Publication: 2011
Illustrator: Sara Palacios https://www.sarapalaciosillustrations.com/
Genre Designation: Fiction
Lexile: AD580L

Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match

Summary: 

In this book there is a character named Marisol. Marisol does not match and her friend Ollie points that out. He tells her that her skin is brown and her hair is the color of carrots. She does not seem to care. This continues on when it comes to recess and the girls want to play pirates and she wants to play soccer. She thinks it would be great to be soccer pirates, of course that is met with opposition. Eventually her friend challenges her to match because he does not think she can do it. She accepts the challenge and matches her clothes, plays the games her friends want her to play and even eats a normal sandwich. She discovers quickly she is not happy like this. Her teacher tells her she likes her just the way she is. The next day she goes back to being mismatched Marisol. 

Target Audience:

This book would be good for ages Pre-K through 3. It has the bi-lingual aspect to it which makes it interesting for older students. This would be a great book if you have English Language Learners, ELL's, in your classroom.

Evaluation:

This book is not a true book about bullying, it is about celebrating differences. When dealing with the sensitive topic of bullying I think it is great to start with tolerance and acceptance. It should not matter what someone is wearing, it should matter who they are on the inside. Also, it is alright to experiment and try different things, you should not be ridiculed for it. I think we see this when cultures clash especially. The younger children are exposed to acceptance, the more they will adopt this as a way of thinking.

Reader Response Activity:

A great activity for this book would be to give your students two cut-outs. They would take a piece of construction paper and divide it in half. On one half they would decorate the person as unique and the other half they would decorate the person as ordinary. Explain that both are great, it comes down to what you prefer. You could even tell them some days we feel unique and other ordinary.